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A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
A tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement, not the number of riders. Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the mid 1880s. Tandems can reach higher speeds than the same riders on single bicycles, and tandem bicycle racing exists. As with bicycles for single riders, there are many variations that have been developed over the years.
The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds and comfort.
Bicycle lighting is illumination attached to bicycles whose purpose above all is, along with reflectors, to improve the visibility of the bicycle and its rider to other road users under circumstances of poor ambient illumination. A secondary purpose is to illuminate reflective materials such as cat's eyes and traffic signs. A third purpose may be to illuminate the roadway so that the rider can see the way ahead. Serving the latter purposes require much more luminous flux and thus more power.
In automobile engineering, electric vehicle conversion is the replacement of a car's combustion engine and connected components with an electric motor and batteries, to create an all-electric vehicle (AEV).
A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. Typically they are incapable of speeds above 52 km/h (32 mph).
An electric bicycle is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries and typically are motor-powered up to 25 to 32 km/h. High-powered varieties can often travel more than 45 km/h (28 mph).
Many countries have enacted electric vehicle laws to regulate the use of electric bicycles. Countries such as the United States and Canada have federal regulations governing the safety requirements and standards of manufacture. Other countries like the signatories of the European Union have agreed to wider-ranging legislation covering use and safety.
A motorized scooter is a stand-up scooter powered by either a small internal combustion engine or electric hub motor in its front and/or rear wheel. Classified as a form of micro-mobility, they are generally designed with a large center deck on which the rider stands. The first motorized scooter was manufactured by Autoped in 1915.
Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery which drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a step-through frame, instead of being straddled. Electric bicycles are similar vehicles, distinguished by retaining the ability to be propelled by the rider pedalling in addition to battery propulsion.
Bicycle suspension is the system, or systems, used to suspend the rider and bicycle in order to insulate them from the roughness of the terrain. Bicycle suspension is used primarily on mountain bikes, but is also common on hybrid bicycles.
ZAP was an American electric vehicle company that designed, produced and marketed vehicles including automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, personal watercraft, hovercraft, ATVs, neighborhood electric vehicles and commercial vehicles. The name stands for Zero Air Pollution. The company headquarters were located in Santa Rosa, California. The company is presumed to be defunct. The company's last filing with the California Secretary of State business entity database indicates the agent for service of process resigned on October 26, 2016.
A pedelec or EPAC, is a type of low-powered electric bicycle where the rider's pedalling is assisted by a small electric motor. However, unlike some other types of e-bikes, pedelecs are classified as conventional bicycles in many countries by road authorities rather than as a type of electric moped. Pedelecs include an electronic controller which cuts power to the motor when the rider is not pedalling or when a certain speed – usually 25 km/h (16 mph) or 32 km/h (20 mph) – is reached. Pedelecs are useful for people who ride in hilly areas or in strong headwinds. While a pedelec can be any type of bicycle, a pedelec city bike is very common. A conventional bicycle can be converted to a pedelec with the addition of the necessary parts, e.g., motor, battery, etc.
Human power is work or energy that is produced from the human body. It can also refer to the power of a human. Power comes primarily from muscles, but body heat is also used to do work like warming shelters, food, or other humans.
Bicycle drivetrain systems are used to transmit power on bicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, unicycles, or other human-powered vehicles from the riders to the drive wheels. Most also include some type of a mechanism to convert speed and torque via gear ratios.
The RoboScooter is a foldable electric scooter developed by William J. Mitchell of the Smart Cities program at the MIT Media Lab. The vehicle was designed in conjunction with Taiwan's SYM Motors and the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
The Copenhagen Wheel was a rear wheel e-bike system. The wheel was connected using an iOS or Android application and was equipped with an electric motor, battery, and suite of sensors that worked together to amplify a rider's pedal power. The Copenhagen Wheel was developed at MIT's Senseable City Lab in 2009 in partnership with the city of Copenhagen, and unveiled at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. In December 2012, Assaf Biderman, a co-inventor of the Wheel and Associate Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, founded SuperPedestrian Inc. with an exclusive license to commercialize the Wheel. The Copenhagen Wheel officially launched in the U.S. in April 2017, and in Europe in October 2017
Superpedestrian Inc., is a transportation robotics company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that develops electrified and AI technologies for micromobility vehicles. The company runs the LINK e-scooter sharing program, which is active in 57 cities across the US and Europe.
References
- ↑ Grimes, William. "William J. Mitchell, Architect and Urban Visionary, Dies at 65", The New York Times , June 15, 2010. Accessed June 16, 2010.
- ↑ Lebovits, Susan Chaityn. "From MIT, a quantum leap in bike mechanics", The Boston Globe , November 6, 2008. Accessed June 16, 2010.
- ↑ Smart Cities, MIT Media Lab. Accessed June 16, 2010.
- ↑ GreenWheel Electric Bicycle, MIT Media Lab. Accessed June 16, 2010.
- ↑ Bland, Eric. "Green wheel turns pedal bike into electric hog", NBC News , February 18, 2009. Accessed June 16, 2010.